Saturday, July 26, 2008

Chuck-E-Cheese

Thursday evening we brought Noah to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate his birthday. There was a special toddler area, but Noah wanted to venture into the "big boy" territory. I mistakenly allowed Clay to help him up the slide. We didn't realize that the slide wasn't the typical Mickey D's slide. It wrapped around the entire playground. After several minutes we didn't see Noah anymore. He was crawling around somewhere in the plastic tubing, not finding the slide. I found a nice girl, paid her 2 tokens, and pleaded with her to find Noah admist the sea of boys and girls. She helped Noah down the steps and he was with us again. We spent the rest of the night riding on the more toddler-friendly rides and decided to banish the "big boy" slide for a later time.
riding the horses
the toddler slide
noah's way of playing ski ball
drive it noah!
we rode "bop" with most of the tokens. noah insisted on hugging and kissing barney after each ride.

birthday presents

Here's a few shots of Noah enjoying his birthday toys. He really got into opening his gifts this year which was so fun for Clay and I!

the classic bubble mower
we were so happy to find a little tykes climb and crawl on craig's list...
... as you can see, noah loves to slide! This book is really special to Noah. We checked it out from the library right around the time Jude was born. Noah learned to say, "Hurry! Hurry!" when he wanted it read. I think every family member that visited us during that time had a chance (or two, or three) to read this beloved book. It was a sad day when we had to bring the book back to its home at the library. Noah asked about it for weeks. Clay and I decided to get it for him for his birthday, but we weren't sure if he would remember it. As soon as he ripped the wrapping paper off, he exclaimed, "Hurry! Hurry!"

Noah turns 2!


On Thursday, Noah turned 2 years old! WOW! We started the day with breakfast donuts. A tradition that was started in the Iles family when Clay was growing up. We have taken the tradition as our own and do it for each of our birthdays. Noah seemed to really enjoy them along with his chocolate milk, complete with crazy straw!


this balloon was tied to noah's chair


(however, the balloon had a short life when it was released and hit the ceiling fan by a very sad little boy :)


the breakfast table ready for noah
birthday donuts
blowing out the candles
yummy chocolate milk

Monday, July 21, 2008

Slip-n-Slide

I bought a slip-n-slide for Noah last week at Target. We hit a great sale, so it was marked down to $6.98! I was really pumped about the great deal I got until we went back 2 days later to get one for a birthday party and they were further marked down to only $4.98!! Oh well, I still consider it quite a steal :)
Clay and I had the best time watching Noah slip and slide. We almost wanted to jump in and join the fun! I wonder what our neighbors would have thought about 2 grown people yelling and splashing on a kiddie slip-n-slide?!

yea for the sprinklers!
whoa, water in the face

i know this ones blurry, but you get the idea. noah has no fear in him!

Jude is 1 month!

On Friday, Jude turned 1 month! WOW!
At 1 month, Jude is...
* wearing size 2 diapers!
*wearing 0-3 month clothes
*eating about every 3-4 hours
*sleeping better at night, usually only awaking to eat (unless his tummy hurts :(
*starting to smile back when we smile at him
*a very pleasant baby



a GREAT visit

Last week we had a very special visit from two wonderful great-grandmothers. Clay's dad graciously agreed to drive Nana and MeMe to Fort Worth so that they could meet their newest great-grandson! They were such nice guests- bringing a delicious meal of chicken spaghetti and lots of presents for the boys. Clay and I love that our grandmas have become such good friends over the years. It's also fun to see our boys enjoy their Nana and MeMe just the way we did as kids- and still do!

nana and meme
meme and jude getting aquainted
4 generations of Iles'- MeMe, Papa, Clay, and Jude (Noah refused to take a picture with them :)
3 generations of Mitchells- Nana, me, and Jude
PaPa and Noah enjoying a yummy breakfast in the Seminary cafeteria

Friday, July 18, 2008

Narcoleptic Noah

Noah, Noah, Noah.... This kid gets stranger by the day. This week we found him sleeping in his closet- yes, closet. Why, you ask? We have no idea! Below this darling picture is Clay's account of how he found our sleeping son in such a tight space.
from Clay...
This past Monday Robin asked me if I knew where her camera was, and I remembered that Noah had been carrying it around saying, “Cheese!” I had taken it from him in his room, so I went in to get it. Noah had been “asleep” for about and hour and a half, so I was shocked when I went in there and did not see him in his bed. I thought that maybe Robin had put him in his baby bed, but to my horror he was not in there either. I frantically ran back to his bed to see if somehow I had missed him there, and even began taking the blanket off of his bed, as if he was under there. It was at that moment that I noticed his closet door shut, and I knew that I had left it open so that Noah could have some light. Upon opening the door, I saw Noah lying asleep. Apparently he had gotten out of bed and went to play in the closet and fallen asleep.
Since then we have found him several more times asleep in his closet. We're still not sure why. I tried asking him, but just got gibberish. Surely that hard carpet isn't more comfy then his big boy bed? Well, we will just see what happens tonight in the "Land of Narcoleptic Noah."

Monday, July 14, 2008

The weekend update

Weekends are so fun because Clay is around from Friday evening to Monday morning. We always do things together as a family and both boys seem very happy because they both get lots of attention! This weekend was no exception. I just wish it didn't have to end!

Jude got a package in the mail from Kaykie on Friday. She sent him an Astros, LSU, and "Jude" onesie all with matching burp cloths! Here he is enjoying his bouncy seat sporting his Astros onesie. Jude is now 10 lbs., 2 oz. and is 22 in. long! He's really started to fatten up!

Clay grilled burgers on Saturday afternoon. Our friends, The McDaniels, were in Dallas celebrating their anniversary and came by for a visit.
Noah had such a good time with Josh and Amanda. They brought him a dump truck with building blocks and brought Jude an LSU onesie and hat!
On Sunday morning Clay and Noah cooked french toast and bacon. Noah was quite the chef helping out in the kitchen. And the breakfast turned out really yummy! Watch out Emeril!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

10 seconds of parental terror

Clay was off of work today, so we had a family day! We started the day by bringing Jude to get his 2nd newborn screening at Harris Methodist Outpatient Clinic. This is when the parental terror began. First of all, we remembered how horrid it was to get Noah's heel stick done and so we preceded to play paper-rock-scissors to see which parent had to witness the brutatlity. I, of course, was chosen because the "kind" lady behind the desk escorted "mom and baby" to the death chamber. Clay was quick to volunteer to change a poopy diaper of Noah's- my, how willing of him. It turned out to be not so bad. Apparently, he bleeds a lot faster than little Noah does. Jude also happens to be not as dramatic as his brother. So the heel stick was over in a matter of seconds and we were out the door. We actually got out before Clay and Noah could finish up in the bathroom! This is when the 2nd moment of parental terror began. Clay was placing the wipes and changing pad in the diaper bag that was over my shoulder when Noah ran out of the waiting room. There happened to be an elevator door open awaiting Noah's entrance. Before either of us could get to him, he got on the elevator. Alone! With the door shut! In a moment of panic I hit the "up" button, the door opened and Noah was standing there looking very proud of himself. I picked him up, held him tight, and pleaded with him to never go alone on an elevator until he was 18! Clay said not to worry that Noah couldn't reach the numbered buttons, and if he had been able to people would obviously know he wasn't an employee of the building! I wasn't quite as calm about the whole episode.
After leaving with both of our children in tow, we enjoyed a tasty lunch of Chik-Fil-A. Not the healthiest, but Noah loves the playground! As a side note, I think it's hilarious when pre-schoolers call toddlers "babies"!
We are now back home with both babies sleeping. When they wake up, Clay's going to take Noah for a swim while Jude comes with me as I run on the treadmill. I've got to lose these extra baby pounds!

Monday, July 07, 2008

It's all relative

I mentioned in an earlier post that Clint, Amanda, and Jack came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. I was irresponsible and didn't take any pictures, however, Amanda had her camera available and posted her pics on Jack's blog. I copied a few to share with everyone of our fun visit! The best part was seeing Noah and Jack play together. It's so rewarding to see the kids grow and enjoy each other!

all the iles boys- clint, jack, clay, noah, and jude


The Red, White, and Blue

Here are some pictures from our fun 4th of July! We got together with some good friends- kind of our family away from family- and had a delicious grill-out with burgers and hotdogs. This was Jude's first appearance to many of our friends and he received lots of "cute" and "awwww" comments. Noah was the biggest hit of all. My friend, Ashley, said the party died after Noah left! He definitely knows how to be the life of the party with all his energy.

thanks to aunt kaykie the boys were outfitted appropriately for the 4th!
jude sacked out after a long day- what am i saying? he slept the whole time at the party too!
noah helping clay water the flowers once we got home

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Hanging out with the boys

Here are some recent pictures of the kiddos. We enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July weekend (pictures to come). It was so nice to have Clay home with us on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! Tomorrow starts a new week. My first whole week alone with the boys. I will have to be very creative to keep such an active toddler busy. Nap time will be my sanity for the next several days. A bit of irony is that my due date is tomorrow and Jude is almost 3 weeks old! We are so glad he came when he did. If they actually gain 1/2 pound a week, then he would have been 9 1/2 pounds- yikes!

jude enjoying some swing time
my 3 boys
precious baby :)
noah enjoying the slide at chik-fil-a
this ones for kaykie- this is your fave onesie!

Friday, July 04, 2008

Family Matters Part 3

GranDee visited us this week from Monday to Wednesday. Noah loved having someone bring him outside (especially when it involved water!) We ventured out with the double stroller and took a walk around the campus. Both boys seemed to enjoy it very much since they both fell asleep!
GranDee helped us so much by cooking and cleaning while she was here. She also watched the boys for us so Clay and I could do things like grocery shop together and go out for ice-cream.
Thank you GranDee for coming to say with us- you were a tremendous help!

outside fun
noah's favorite part of water play- the hose

noah watering my flowers
noah being sweet to baby brother- awwww!
*We also enjoyed a short visit with Uncle Clint, Aunt Amanda, and Jack as they were passing through on a trip to Colorado. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures while they were here :(
Jack and Noah enjoyed playing together and we even got in an outing to eat BBQ at Cousins (I know my postings always have to involve food, but hey, that's how we socialize- right?)

Family Matters Part 2

Pops, Grammie, and Landon came for a visit last weekend because the guys had not seen little Jude yet. We ate a tasty meal of Boston Market and played a rousing game of Scattergories at Landon's request. Pops, Clay, Landon, and Noah went for a swim and to eat ice-cream on Saturday afternoon, while Grammie, Jude, and I made a Target run!

look at those happy grandparents :)
uncle landon and his new nephew
the two buds
vanilla- yum, yum!
a game of pool, anyone?